Stormers

Blues

The Blues now at the 10 of the Stormers and the ball is intercepted by Marais. He tries to break forward but is held back after kicking forward. Penalty to the hosts around the 10

78

The Blues have it in hand and initiate their attack from their 10. Vermaak steals it after the ruck and the ball kicked forward. The Blues again in possession now inside their 10

77

Scrum after the reset kick and the Stormers push the Blues back. The ball taken out the back and the Stormers boot it forward

76

Marais takes a kick form inside the 22 and restores the 8-point lead

75

The Stormers win a penalty after the scrum

74

The restart kick is contested intensely. The Stormers continue to apply pressure as the ball is sent back but lost forward in contact. Scrum to the Stormers around their 5 of the Blues

72

Penalty to the Blues. Gatland takes the kick and adds 3

71

The restart kick is at the 22 and Van Dyk sends it back for his tram. The ball is cleared and the Blues have it in their own half. Luatua again making a few meters for his team as he carries forward

70

The conversion is good

69

Both sets of bodies on the line and the referee refers to the TMO for a try/no try decision. The referee says TRY to Notshe

68

Scrum to the Blues at their 5. They take it out the back and clear into touch. The Stormers take the throw and make good ground with their maul. Vermaak gets it after the maul and offloads to Kolisi. The hosts at the 5 but the Blues reform their line

67

The Stormers now at the 5 pushing forward with menace. The referee blows for a penalty as the ball is lost forward by the hosts at the 5

66

Duffie sent off

66

The Stormers push the Blues back but they take the ball and let it out the back quickly. The Stormers turnover and Kolbe breaks along the wing but Pryor with a try-stopping tackle. The referee heads over to award Duffie a second yellow card as he halts play

65

Scrum at the hosts' 10

64

The ball is lost forward by the Stormers

63

The visitors win a penalty to the Blues and the ball is kicked into touch

62

The Blues looking to build from inside their 10 and they move the ball up field to the wing

61

The restart is there and a kicking contest ensues

60

Marais takes his kick and puts his team in front

59

De Allende looks for the offload to Senatla. It roles forward but the referee says offside and Leyds takes it quickly catching the Blues off guard as he skips through the defence to score a TRY

58

The hosts trying to break through at the 5 but the Blues holding firm

57

The Stormers with the ball now again around the 5

56

Scrum at the 5 of the away team

55

The hosts now at the 5 of the Blues and Kolisi knocks it forward at the 5

54

The restart kick is there and the Blues make it to the 10 of the hosts but it's intercepted by Treeby. The Stormers win a penalty inside the 22 and move forward quickly as they play a tap and go

53

He takes his kick and adds 3

52

The Stormers form a maul after the throw and win a penalty after it collapses. Marais sets up for a kick at goal

51

Marais kicks forward and Nanai boots it clear around the Blues 22

50

The Blues lose it forward again after the throw and the Stormers make some ground with an advantage.

49

The ball is moved up field after an attempted maul and it's lost forward. The Stormers play on and the ball is kicked into touch around their 10

48

Line-out at the 5 again

47

The Blues have a line-out inside the 22 of the hosts. They maneuver the ball around the 5 looking for the gap. The referee stops play for a Blues penalty

46

The Blues win it back and they make their way to the 22 of the Stormers. The referee halts play for a penalty to the Blues

45

The restart kick is there and it goes into touch afterwards. The Stormers have a half way line line out

44

The conversion kick is good

43

The ball is tackled into touch and the Blues have a throw at the Stormers 5. Sonny Bill Williams takes it after the throw and offloads to Gibson who has little to do as he floats over the line to score a TRY

42

Scrum shortly after the kickoff. Scrum reset at the 10 of the Blues. The Blues take their scrum and take it quickly into the hosts' half.

41

The referee blows his whistle and the second half is underway

Half Time

40

Marais adds the extras

40

The horn sounds and the home team moves it to the center of the sticks, the captain the man who gets the ball and puts it down to bring the Stormers closer to leveling the score

39

The ball is kicked into touch at the 5. Line-out for the hosts

38

The hosts now with the ball and Kolbe with some magical footwork as he enters the 22. The ball moved up field and the Stormers win a penalty

37

Etzebeth takes the ball down after the throw and the Stormers look to add something more before the half time whistle

36

Leyds gets it and boots it forward into touch at the 22

35

The Blues have a throw at the 22 of the hosts. The ball is moved down field then the referee blows for a scrum to the hosts

34

The restart kick is there and the Blues on the attack again now at the 22

33

Francis misses the kick

32

The Blues move the ball along the 5 and Parsons is the man who finds the space along the wing as he sprints over the line to score the TRY

31

Scrum reset again

30

Scrum reset

29

Scrum taken at the Blues 10 and they move the ball forward. The ball is kicked forward and Kolbe lets it slip through his fingers. The conditions working against both sets of players. The Blues win a penalty at the 5 of the hosts

28

The referee halts play again for another penalty. Both teams with a few handling errors this half

27

Marais takes his kick and sends it wide

26

The Stormers win a penalty after the scrum

25

Scrum to the Stormers at the 10 of the Blues

24

Line-out to the Blues around the mid field and they lose the ball forward

23

The restart kick is there and the Stormers try to apply pressure following the Blues try but give away a penalty

22

Piers Francis adds the extras

21

The Blues looking to make the most of the psychological win after Etzebeth's yellow card and they do. Moala makes it over the line to score the TRY

20

They take it and break quickly. They reach the 22 with the help of Williams. They form the ruck quickly and move forward after as Williams takes it and offloads quickly again
The referee halts play as tempers flair and a scuffle ensues. Etzebeth gets himself 10 minutes in the bin

19

Line-out for the blues around the half way

18

They kick across the field and it goes into touch. The Stormers take it quickly and try attack with Senatla along the wing

17

The referee stops play for another scrum. This time to the Blues

16

The Blues win a line-out inside the Stormers half. They take their throw but the Stormers turnover shortly after

15

Line-out taken and the ball booted forward. The Stormers have it and look to build from the half way. They are pushed back and Kolbe kicks outward

14

Line-out for the Blues around their 22

13

The Stormers finding it hard to make it over the line as they are held at inside the 5. The visitors win a penalty and the ball is cleared into touch

12

The Stormers take another line-out at the opposite 5 of the Blues half. They make it over the line but the referee blows for a scrum at the 5 for the hosts

11

They move the ball up field and look for space elsewhere but the referee blows for a penalty to the Stormers. Duffie offside and he is awarded a yellow card

10

Marais kicks into touch at the 5 and they look for another maul. The ruck is formed inside the 5

9

The Stormers take the throw and look to make some ground with the maul. The ball is kicked across the field by Leyds and the referee calls play back for a penalty to the Stormers at the 22 of the away team

8

The Blues push them back to their own 22 but give away a penalty. The ball is kicked into touch around the mid field

7

The referee halts play. Penalty to the Stormers. The ball is kicked into touch around the 22

6

Luatua carrying forward for the Blues as they enter the 10

5

Line-out at the half for the Blues

4

The ball kicked back and forth by both teams as they look for territory after the restart kick

3

The Stormers gets a penalty around the 22 of the away team and start the scoring with 3 points

1

The Stormers with a scrum early in the game around the mid field

0

The referee sounds his whistle and the game is underway!

-5

The players readying themselves to leave the locker rooms now

-10

Only three times in the last 11 seasons have the Blues won their opening game of a South African tour, though they'll be looking to string two together after a 34-18 win against the Kings in Port Elizabeth in Round 11 last season

-15

The Stormers have won four of their last five games at home, though a 29-16 loss in their last home fixture sees them looking to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time since the 2011 semifinal.

-20

The Stormers have won four of their last five games against the Blues, with a one-point loss in Round 12, 2013 the only blemish on that record.

-30

Welcome to Newlands, where the Stormers will host the Blues

Stormers

Blues

START LINE UP

1
Oliver Kebble

2
Bongi Mbonambi

3
Frans Malherbe

4
Eben Etzebeth

5
Pieter-Steph du Toit

6
Kobus van Dyk

7
Siya Kolisi

8
Nizaam Carr

9
Dewaldt Duvenage

10
Dillyn Leyds

11
Seabelo Senatla

12
Shaun Treeby

13
EW Viljoen

14
Cheslin Kolbe

15
Sarel Marais

RESERVES

16
Ramone Samuels

17
Alistair Vermaak

18
Wilco Louw

19
Jan de Klerk

20
Sikhumbuzo Notshe

21
Jano Vermaak

22
Brandon Thomson

23
Damian de Allende

START LINE UP

1
Ofa Tuungafasi

2
James Parsons

3
Charlie Faumuina

4
Gerald Cowley-Tuioti

5
Scott Scrafton

6
Steven Luatua

7
Blake Gibson

8
Akira Ioane

9
Augustine Pulu

10
Piers Francis

11
Rieko Ioane

12
Sonny Bill Williams

13
George Moala

14
Matt Duffie

15
Melani Nanai Vai

RESERVES

16
Hame Faiva

17
Alex Hodgman

18
Sione Mafileo

19
Patrick Tuipulotu

20
Kara Pryor

21
Sam Nock

22
Bryn Gatland

23
Michael Collins

SR Preview: Round 13, Part One

Wed, 17 May 2017 21:49

IN THE SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: The heat will be turned up, literally, when Round 13 gets underway.

It all starts in Suva, where the Crusaders and Chiefs go head-to-head in a repeat of last year's historic match.

From the freezing conditions in New Zealand, both teams were met by a wall of humidity in Fiji.

However, it is not just the weather that will be sweltering.

The intensity that both teams are promising will ensure there is no place for the faint of heart.

In the only other Friday match the Stormers will look to end a four-march losing streak when they host the Blues in Cape Town.

Prediction: The Chiefs have won their last four games against the Crusaders by an average margin of 14 points and have not lost the first meeting between these teams in a season since 2011. The Chiefs have restricted the Crusaders to fewer than 20 points in each of their last six games when hosting them, winning all but one of those six with only a one-point loss in Round 10, 2014 blemishing that record. The Chiefs are undefeated against fellow New Zealand opposition this season, netting three wins so far and restricting their opponents to single digits in the opening half of each game. The Chiefs have won 16 of their last 17 games at home on a Friday night, including each of their last seven, while they haven't lost at home on a Friday against the Crusaders since Round 17, 2012. The Crusaders have won three of their last five games away from home against fellow New Zealand opposition despite leading at half-time only once in that span; in fact, they'll be looking for consecutive wins in such fixtures for the first time since 2014. The Chiefs (2.1) are the only team in the competition to steal an average of two or more line-outs per game this season. No team moves the ball around the park more than the Crusaders, who's 161 passes per game are nearly eight more than any other team in the competition. The Chiefs have conceded a league-low 19 tries this campaign, not conceding more than six in any single quarter; though the Crusaders are one of only two teams in the competition (Hurricanes) to have scored 10 or more tries in every quarter. James Lowe has scored four tries in his last five games against the Crusaders and has found the try line in two of his last three home games against New Zealand opposition. David Havili has gained 818m and beaten 44 defenders this season, ranking in second for both categories among all players for this campaign. The Chiefs have had the wood on the Crusaders the last few years, but that could all change - the Crusaders to edge a thriller by five points.

The Stormers are hoping that home ground 'advantage' will help them end the horror show that has been the last month - four defeats, as well as having coughed up 184 points and 28 tries.

However, they will need to replicate their pre-tour form - when they overpowered the Chiefs - rather than the capitulation they produced against the Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes in New Zealand.

Coach Robbie Fleck said they need to learn from the lessons handed to them on tour.

"The Blues team [has] a lot of big names," Fleck told a media briefing in Cape Town.

"They have a lot of players with [the] x-factor.

"Defensively we are going to have to be sharp to contain them."

However, the most statement was when he said: "We need to take the lessons learnt from the tour an put them in place."

The Blues, in stark contrast, are coming off a three-match winning streak.

Despite their relative good form Blues assistant coach Steve Jackson said they are facing a tough battle against a team that is better than their results suggest.

"It is a tough place to come and play and win," he said of Newlands.

Head coach Tana Umaga spoke of the challenge if their travel schedule.

"We have planned for it and we do have a number of players coming back from injury for us, and some hopefully ready to be considered back in New Zealand next week," Umaga said.

"The Stormers at Newlands are a formidable challenge for us.

"We've played well for the last month and need to continue to improve every game as we look to produce an 80-minute performance."

Prediction: The Stormers have won four of their last five games against the Blues, with a one-point loss in Round 12, 2013 the only blemish on that record. The Stormers have won four of their last five games at home, though a 29-16 loss in their last home fixture sees them looking to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time since the 2011 semifinal. Only three times in the last 11 seasons have the Blues won their opening game of a South African tour, though they'll be looking to string two together after a 34-18 win against the Kings in Port Elizabeth in Round 11 last season. Opposition teams beat an average of just 15.6 defenders per game when facing the Blues, the lowest against any team in the competition. Sikhumbuzo Notshe has crossed for four tries in his last three games on home soil for the Stormers, including a hat-trick in Round 6 against the Cheetahs. The Stormers at home are far more formidable than the rabble that toured. They should win by 12 points.

Stormers squeak past Blues

Fri, 19 May 2017 13:20

SUPER RUGBY REPORT: The Stormers returned to winning ways when they squeaked out a narrow 30-22 victory over the Blues at Newlands on Friday.

The Stormers trailed by two points at the half-time interval before finding themselves nine points down five minutes into the second half. But they then scored two tries, SP Marais kicked goals and they won the last 35 minutes of the game 20-3.

That meant that the Stormers got four league points, the Blues none.

It was a late match with a bit of autumn chill after a warm, still day and a crowd of 33 807 came into the great ground and had a fair amount to shout about. There was no wind to blow away the celebratory smoke that heralded the home side's arrival onto the field. It was smoke, not autumn mist, a doubtful idea.

The Blues kicked off into the smoke to start a match of avid defence and six tries, all of them tense but essentially unglamorous.

The Stormers scored first - an offside penalty goaled by fullback SP Marais from 42 metres out and 15m in from touch. 3-0 after 3 minutes.

A penalty gave the Stormers a five-metre line-out and they bashed at the line. Eben Etzebeth was close, then Dewaldt Duvenage, then Pieter-Steph du Toit, then Siya Kolisi. At this stage, Matt Duffie was yellow carded.

He had been offside but was the fourth Blue penalised in quick succession. The Stormers bashed again and the referee adjudged that Nizaam Carr was held up in the left corner. Five-metre scrum and more bashing till the Stormers were penalised when Stephen Luatua looked to be winning a turnover.

Just after this Seabelo Senatla had a burst down the middle which brought a roar of excitement from the throats of thousands, the Sevens star a hero.

First Rieko Ioane broke and then Melani Nanai and the Blues were at the Stormers line, where a long, well-populated squabble ensued with Eben Etzebeth, Akira Ioane and Sonny Bill Williams as the main protagonists. At one stage Etzebeth had four Blues players laying aggressive siege to him.

When it stopped and the TMO was consulted, the upshot was a yellow card for Etzebeth as the instigator and for pushing a flat hand into Akira Ioane's jaw area.

While Etzebeth was doing penance, the Blues scored two tries - 12 points.

Instead of the penalty against Etzebeth, the Blues opted for a scrum. They bashed on the left and then went right where prop Charlie Faumuina passed a perfect pass to George Moala who in two steps was over under the posts. 7-3 after 22 minutes and Duffy returned from the sin bin.

A grubber by Augustine Pulu that bounced horribly for Cheslin Kolbe set the Blues on the attack. They turned a penalty into a scrum and did some more bashing till Faumuina set up his second try with a popped skip-pass that landed in the hands of hooker James Parsons who scored in the right corner. 12-3 after 34 minutes and Etzebeth came back.

When Ofa Tu'ungafasi was penalised for a high tackle on compatriot Shaun Treeby, Dillyn Leyds tapped and was close at the upright but Kolisi was on hand to drive over under the posts. 12-10 to the Blues, the half-time score.

The Stormers were penalised, the Blues mauled, Williams broke away and offloaded to Blake Gibson, who scored, and the Blues led 19-10 after 45 minutes.

It was a match with a lot of bashing. There was a difference in that the Blues seemed to clear from the tackle more quickly and efficiently.

Duvenage box-kicked and the Blues attacked. Treeby tackled Piers Francis high, and the Blues flyhalf was taken off on a stretcher. The decision was a penalty only, as it was with the other three high tackles in the match.

That penalty and another set the Blues attacking and bashing till Williams lost the ball in a tackle.

At this stage, bearded Damien de Allende came on in the place of EW Viljoen.

A penalty set the Stormers attacking and bashing till a knock-on gave the Blues a scrum. They were under pressure, Carr won a turnover. The Stormers bashed through 15 phases will Duffy was penalised for offside, and Leyds darted in, tapped and drove himself over for the try which gave the Stormers the lead at 20-19 with 20 minutes to go.

The dancing girls were high-kicking higher than ever.

At this stage, the Blues looked rattled and Etzebeth, perhaps in atonement, was at his aggressive best.

Marais broke and Kolbe seemed away down the right but Kara Pryor hauled him down in a brilliant tackle. Kolbe was on the ground and Duffy dived on him. The referee decided that was worth a yellow card and the second yellow became a red.

The penalty set Stormers attacking and bashing, Jano Vermaak made a sharp break down the left and they went wide right where De Allende drove into Williams and drove him back right to the goal-line.

Sikhumbuzo Notshe was behind De Allende and picked up the ball to ground it over the line. After consulting the TMO the try was awarded. 27-19 with 70 minutes to play.

When the Stormers were penalised replacement flyhalf Bryn Gatland, son of Warren, silenced the loud booing by goaling the penalty to bring the Blues into contention for a bonus point at 27-22 with seven minutes left.

The Stormers destroyed a Blues scrum. The Blues were penalised. 30-22 with four minutes to play.

The Blues ran, Marais intercepted darted and kicked. Moala held Marais back, but the fullback missed the long penalty. The Blues, bless them, tried to play from their dead-ball line but did not get out of their in-goal and the match was over.

Man of the Match: Captain Siya Kolisi, a calm leader, and intense and deadly tackler, a grafter and a power with the ball in hand, as shown in his try on the stroke of half-time.